Every game a must-win for Oilers

EDMONTON — Even for players who’ve been in this game for years and have seen just about all there is to see, it’s difficult to get their heads around the stress they’ll be facing in an all-canadian division.

Every single night, two or three teams they’re competing against for playoff spots will be getting points. No matter what.

Every time they lose a game, it will mean the teams ahead of them are pulling away and the teams behind them are catching up. No matter what.

It’s going to be relentless. And it’s starting already.

With Winnipeg and Calgary splitting up three points on Thursday, after the Leafs and Canadiens went to overtime Wednesday, the second game of the season against the Vancouver Canucks, on the heels of Wednesday night’s loss, took on a strange sense of urgency.

“We’ve talked about it a lot,” said Ryan Nugenthopkins. “Every game you’re not just getting yourself two points, you’re taking two points away from a divisional team.

“We’re going to be in these little mini-series all year and we have to take pride in them. They will mean more than just playing western teams against eastern teams.”

They mean a potential eight-point swing if a team wins or loses both games.

That’s why the old adage of good teams not losing two in a row takes on a new and important twist — playoff teams can’t lose two in a row very often or they won’t be playoff teams.

“With the way the division is set up, and with back-toback games (against the same team), you have to be able to get points after losing the first game,” said centre Kyle Turris. “Because if you don’t, you’re going to be playing catch up and that’s tough to do. It’s really important.”

It’s not going to be easy when there is that much pressure heaped on every game of the season, and there’s no time to catch their breath or shrug off a loss because it came against an Eastern Conference team, but that’s how the table is set. They either eat or they go hungry.

“You have to recognize where we are,” said head coach Dave Tippett. “You have to live with the scenario that’s in front of you, so you better embrace it.

“There are going to be bumps in the road, whether it’s COVID or injuries, travel and fatigue. Whatever it may be, you better embrace that and use it as a rallying point to make sure your team is ready to play however they have to play to win that game.”

Another factor that needs to be taken into account in a schedule that sees them play 56 games in 115 days is managing the minutes of their top players.

The Oilers like to rely heavily on their Hart trophy winners, but keeping them fresh through a condensed and intense grind will be a big challenge. As tempting as it is top tap Mcdavid on the shoulder every third shift, Tippett will need to show some restraint.

The captain played almost 26 minutes in the season opener, a pace that can never be sustained over a full season. Even though 7:10 of it came on Edmonton’s four power plays, Tippett knows he can’t go to that well too often.

“He was a couple of minutes over what he was at last year in even-strength play,” said the coach. “Some of that is dictated by the game. We were chasing the game, so we were using him more.”